Jord

by S Cinders

  "Mother?" the man croaked.

  Jord flinched.

  The man moved closer and put his hand on her skeletal arm. She gasped when he touched her. He felt so real. The woman was muttering something under her breath, and suddenly, the oppression of the room lifted. The woman heaved a sigh.

  "The spell is broken; her dragon will take time to return, though, Andar. She's been here a long time."

  The man was still looking at Jord.

  "Andar," Jord tried to say his name. It was rusty, but he recognized her voice.

  Not caring that he was a grown man, Andar scooped Jord into his arms and wept. His mother was little more than skin and bones. He had never in his life held something so fragile. It was humbling to see the great dragon queen reduced to such a state.

  The woman with the wild hair said, "Andar, we need to get away from here. The Vernomi will sense the change in magic."

  Andar nodded and stood with Jord in his arms. "Flora, lead us back to the caves."

  Jord didn't know who Flora was or if this was really happening. She had hoped and dreamed of rescue for so long that, at some point, Jord had known it wasn't going to work out. She had resigned to live out the rest of her life in this cell.

  As they made their way through the darkness, Jord felt the prickling of her dragon, almost as if she was trying to awaken, but then she slipped back into nothingness.

  "We are here," the woman named Flora said as she moved into a circle of light.

  Andar followed, and for the first time in centuries, Jord returned to the Dragon Realm.

  Chapter 18

  Zoe moaned as Cane rubbed the spot on her bottom he had just spanked with the flat paddle. Her pussy throbbed with need, and she hoped he would stop the slow strokes for an increased pace. But she knew better than to beg her master.

  Cane was one who liked being in control. And Zoe found that the more she pleased him, the closer they grew. Another hard smack, the sting going straight to her clit, and she fought the urge to squirm either closer or further away.

  "Good girl." Cane's voice was rough like gravel, his fingers dipping between her thighs and feeling the silkiness that had gathered. He picked up the object Titus and Ava had brought back from the human world. It was larger than most butt plugs he had used with Zoe, but he knew she could take it.

  Pushing her thighs apart, he picked up the almond oil and spread a generous amount over her crack. Zoe gasped as his fingers moved through her swollen folds. He moved to the ring of her ass and gently helped her take the metal butt plug. She grunted as her body made way for the object and then cried out when he flipped the switch, causing it to begin vibrating.

  Cane pushed her legs wider and loved watching the way her pussy clenched as if begging him to fill it.

  The cries broke free from Zoe's throat, and she began to beg him. "Please, Master, please fuck me. I need you so badly."

  "You have been a good girl, Zoe. I will take you soon. But first, I want your pretty mouth around my cock."

  Zoe just wanted him inside of her any way she could have him. Her body was desperate for release, hanging on the precipice of something she knew would completely blow her world. He moved in front of her where she was kneeling and slid his length along her lips.

  Zoe loved the salty taste of her master and moaned in delight. Her tiny pink tongue flicked out and got the cream that was gathering on the tip.

  Cane was holding on by a thread, desperate to keep himself from blowing his load all over her pretty face or on her tits. No, he wanted to be inside of her, to feel her pussy squeezing him as the toy shook her to oblivion.

  He groaned when she sucked him further into her mouth and started to hollow out her cheeks. Zoe had learned a lot in the last few months. She was able to take quite a bit of his length into her throat without choking.

  His relationship with her was something he would never have guessed he wanted and everything he treasured. He loved his mate with every fiber of his being. She sucked again, and he hissed, narrowly pulling out before his balls could draw up and he released down her throat.

  Zoe stared up at him with a quizzical look that had him smiling.

  He bent down and kissed her swollen lips and then moved behind her once again. His cock was still slick from her tongue. As he teased her entrance, it became clear that the vibrating anal toy would be pleasurable for the both of them.

  He entered her, gasping at the fullness with the toy inside of her ass. Zoe could hardly breathe. It seemed, with her Master inside of her and the vibrating toy, there was nothing of her that was left. She was thrumming with need, panting with desire.

  He thrust back and forth, his strokes strong and determined just as everything he did. Zoe's eyes closed as she reveled in the feelings. Her breasts felt heavy, the tips tightened into eraser points. She felt her ass clench the toy and her pussy climbing, reaching, shaking, getting ever closer to the pinnacle of her release.

  Her breath caught as the spiral went out of control and then she exploded beneath him, her body spasming and shaking as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her in a dance that was as old as time. Zoe relished every moment of this beautiful union with her mate. She loved him so much.

  "I love you, mate," Cane growled. "And the dragon in your belly."

  Zoe froze. "What?"

  Cane's chuckle startled both of them. It wasn't that he laughed that often.

  "I have told you I loved you before."

  She frowned. "Not often, but that wasn't what surprised me. What do you mean, dragon in my belly?"

  Cane smiled and tucked her into his body. "My son's spirit calls out to me. I know he is there."

  Zoe blew out a breath. "Holy shit."

  Cane laughed again. "That is startling to you?"

  "I hadn't thought about being a mother yet. You just got your own mother back."

  Cane turned Zoe in her arms and said, "And your mother and father are on their way to the dragon lands. Are you okay with all of this?"

  Zoe swallowed. "I am worried about your mother. I know that you say she is a god and they don't die, but, Cane, she is so broken, her spirit as well as her body. I am worried about my parents. Why are they coming here? Are we actually going to get the truth? I know they said they know a way to get Flora into the Earth Realm. But we already know they can't be trusted."

  Cane pushed a strand of hair back from her face. "These are all valid concerns, mate, and nothing I haven't wondered, myself."

  Zoe pushed to sit up a little. Cane couldn't help but notice the way her breasts bounced a little by the movement.

  "And something is odd about how your mother reacted to Ava, almost fearful of her. What was the relationship between Titania and your mother?"

  Cane squinted as if trying to remember. "I was a young dragon then, but I do remember that it was friendly between the dragons and the fey. When the Vernomi attacked the fey, the dragons were the first to protect them. I spent the majority of my life away from my mother because of the promise she kept to the fey."

  Zoe frowned. "If all of this is true, why wasn't Titania thrilled to see Quin? You would think she would have fallen on her knees and thanked the son of Jord, who helped save her people. But in truth, she did nothing, and Flora had to help them escape in the night. I am telling you, something with Titania is off."

  Cane bit his lower lip while he thought about it. "You certainly have a good point. I think we need to speak to my mother about it tomorrow."

  Zoe yawned, and Cane pulled her back into his arms. "You need some rest, Zoe."

  She smiled and patted his jaw. "Yes, Master."

  "There is my good girl."

  Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.

  Chapter 19

  "You have a lot of nerve showing up here, Odin."

  Odin, who previously had been stroking his beard, left off with his grooming to beam to Cane, Titus, and Andar. "What?" Odin shook his head as if Cane had been joking. "We are family now. What happened
in the past is the past. Come now, you have mated my daughter, which is every bit as binding as a marriage bond. And I am told that Titus intends to make his mating bond with the fey princess at the next Dragon's Flame Ceremony."

  Titus stood, smoke coming from his nose as he tried to control his temper.

  "You have been nothing but tricks and ill for the dragons. Give us one good reason why we shouldn't kill you?"

  "Well," Odin ticked the reasons off on his fingers, "One, I won't die, so that is a bother. Two, Zoe wouldn't like it. And three, you need me to get Andar and Flora back into the Earth Realm."

  Titus growled and looked like he was going to roast the Norse god anyway, but Cane flashed him a look.

  "How long are you and Freya staying with us?" Cane's voice was deceptively calm. One only had to look at the flames in his eyes to know how he truly felt about Odin.

  "Not long, indeed. It was rather unsporting of your brother, Quin, to run off with one of my Valkyrie."

  "Gemma," Cane bit off. "Yes, I am aware of your warrior. She is the same one who shot my brother down from the skies and then managed to get him trapped in the lands of the fey. If it wasn't for Flora, he might still be there. And now this Gemma of yours has Quin entering into agreements with the Lycans, with whom we have never been aligned. I am well versed in your Valkyrie warrior's varied skills."

  Odin beamed like a proud papa. "She is rather something else, isn't she?"

  "Is there something in the air in Valhalla that has caused your brain to malfunction?"

  It was the first time that Andar had spoken during the interchange.

  Odin frowned. "That was unkind."

  "You are either damnably rude or horribly ignorant. One would think that a god of your fame and stature would be astute enough to know that we are aware of the manipulations and machinations that you and your wife have gone through. Make no mistake, Zoe is one of us, but you are not, and never will be, part of the dragon hoard. You are selfish and dishonest and, therefore, not to be tolerated. I am through with this interview."

  Andar rose to his feet, and for a moment, Odin stumbled back.

  "If I wanted to do you harm, I would have long before now," Andar muttered with a curse. He nodded to Titus and Cane and then brushed past Odin without a backward glance.

  Odin had lost the genial man-about-town façade that he had been using when he first approached the dragon kings. Knowing that he was on thin ice, he went with the truth, which, for Odin, didn't happen very often.

  "We can get Flora back inside the Earth Realm, but it won't be easy. Fenrir is behind the banning of Flora. Loki and Thor are still on Earth, attempting to change his mind. But considering that Fenrir was banished from Asgard, I doubt he will listen to his father. Oh, and on Earth, he isn't known as Fenrir. The USLUF call him Dr. Rinwald; he is a renowned scientist."

  "So, if Fenrir, or Dr. Rinwald, is behind the evil Lycans and the banishment of Flora, how are my brother and Flora to get back into the Earthly Realm? They will be looking for a link between your realm and mine."

  Odin snapped his fingers. "Exactly, but they don't expect one to come from the realm of the fey."

  Titus glared at Odin. "You want my brother to go back into the Vernomi lands, the same place that has held my mother captive for thousands of years."

  "It's perfect!"

  Cane's jaw was clenched, and Titus stood once more.

  "Guards, show our guest some refreshment."

  Odin followed the dragon guards readily enough; he was happy to get away from the dragon kings and their quick tempers. In his realm, the gods were more relaxed and playful. In truth, he wanted to go home and live in his paradise as he had been doing all along.

  The dragon kings didn't like what he suggested, but it was the only way. They were stubborn and proud, and if Odin was being honest, fucking terrifying.

  "Odin, how was your meeting?"

  He smiled as Freya and Zoe approached him.

  "Won't you call me Father?"

  Zoe shook her head. "I am afraid it would be too strange for me. I am trying to wrap my head around things as they are. Were you able to discuss the things you wanted to with the dragon kings?"

  Odin's smile looked pinched. "Of course."

  Freya laughed. "That is code for it was a complete disaster."

  Zoe had mixed feelings about the way her mother had worked with Odin to trick them all. She loved her mother but had deep resentment for all of the untruths and half-truths that had littered her life. With the dragon in her stomach, it made Zoe think twice about cutting her parents out of her life. They were imperfect, but they were hers.

  "Please excuse me. I am going to visit Jord."

  Freya stopped Zoe. "Might I come with you? I have something that might bring the woman some comfort."

  Zoe nodded, and the two women left Odin to his snacks and repast as they walked up the corridor that led to the cave where Jord was convalescing.

  "Who is there?"

  Her frightened voice made Zoe's tender heart squeeze uncomfortably.

  "It's Zoe and Freya," Zoe said, forcing some cheerfulness into her tone.

  "Oh, come in."

  The walked into the dimly lit cave and, for a moment, didn't see the older dragon. In her human form, her body was bent, and she was so horribly thin that she had a hard time standing straight. Healers had been in to see her, but there was trouble with her dragon returning, and that was causing her body not to heal properly.

  "How are you?" Zoe reached out her hand and took the older one into her own.

  Jord smiled. "There is goodness in you."

  Freya stepped forward. "Jord, I would like to try something. I can put you to sleep and then call to your dragon. But I won't do it unless you are willing."

  Jord looked frightened. "What could go awry?"

  Freya smiled. "In a human, they could fall into the sleep and not find their way out again. It won't happen with a god."

  Zoe's eyes shot to her mother's. She worried that Jord was far more human than she was dragon. But the choice clearly lay with Jord.

  "Yes." Jord nodded. "I wish to try."

  Freya stood and placed her hands on Jord's head as she said, "Sleep."

  Chapter 20

  Jord opened her eyes. She wasn't in the cave with her son's mate and the Norse goddess. She was in the dragon lands, back before everything bad had happened. When she looked down, she saw that her body was strong and firm again. Her long blonde hair was thick and lustrous.

  Jord felt strong and took a deep breath, loving the way that nothing hurt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Oberon rushing down the path.

  "Oberon!" she called out, waving her hands.

  But he didn't answer her, only continued along his way.

  This infuriated Jord, and she moved to stand directly in front of him.

  "You can't ignore me!"

  Steam was starting to form from her heated breath, but again, Oberon didn't respond, and as he drew closer, he not only didn't change his course, he walked right through her.

  Jord gasped, "What?"

  Oberon continued along the way, and Jord decided in that instant that she would follow him. She scrambled after the larger fey king and was surprised when he stopped at the great lake.

  "Celeste, show yourself!"

  Jord blinked. "Celeste isn't here."

  She realized that it was pointless to speak when he continued on. "You said you would protect the child! And now we are on the brink of war. I am not playing around, Celeste; show yourself!"

  Again, silence.

  Jord knew Celeste wouldn't be coming; she had been tried with treason for trying to harm the dragon princess. Celeste was a dragon who had never been right in the head. She was beautiful; that much was true enough. However, she saw conspiracies where they didn't exist. She spoke with the Ghost Realm, even though communication wasn't open. And she used dark magic.

  Jord had given the ruling, herself, when Celeste had attempted to
poison her sons. Rather than putting her to death, Jord had banned her to the Ghost Realm.

  "You will be sorry you abandoned our daughter, Celeste. I cannot stop Titania now. She is riled with jealousy and out for blood. If she can't exact it from you, she will go after your queen."

  Jord took a step back.

  No.

  No.

  She and Titania had been friends for as long as she could remember. Surely, she wouldn't do something so foolhardy.

  "I am not playing around, Celeste. I can't leave her; you know that we are bound together. The Vernomi are coming; I think it is Titania's doing. She is such a fool; she plans to have dominion of them."

  Nobody could rule the Vernomi. They were soulless, reasonless destroyers. Why would she call them to come to her?

  Oberon sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I have warned you, and now we must pay for the sins we have made."

  The world swirled around her, and then Jord found that she was in the lands of fey. The inhabitants were screaming as people were being ripped apart limb from limb. This was a scene that Jord had been familiar with, although it had been a very long time ago.

  This is what it looked like when the dragons had come to help the fey. Sure enough, she could see dragons in the air circling and breathing down fire on the black, wraithlike creatures with impossible strength. Their sharp teeth ripped through flesh, and they laughed as dragon and fey alike were strewn broken and bruised across the lands.

  "You have to leave," Jord heard her own voice and turned to see herself all those years ago. Her body was covered in blood, and she had more than one cut on her skin. "Titania, the land of the fey is lost. I can open a portal to earth. Perhaps you can find a pocket of magic to start something new."

  Titania was sobbing, "This is all my fault!"

  Jord heard herself saying, "No, you did nothing to start this."

  But now, she knew that Titania had been the cause of this. And what happened next would change how Jord survived for thousands of years. She screamed at herself to stop.